Baylor soccer stepped onto the pitch for the first time of the 2018 season Wednesday.
The program is fresh off its first ever Elite 8 and with a lot of that team returning plus a talented mix of newcomers expectations are even higher.
These bears aren't buckling though. The ladies relish the pressure.
"Since last year's been done, we've kind of worked on building that, you know, that's in the past, and this is a new year. And we're challenged just to remember all the hard things we went through and all the hard work that was put into that," Julie James, Baylor senior midfielder, said.
James' thoughts were echoed by fellow senior Sarah King.
"We kinda try to talk about how 2017 was 2017 while 2018 is a completely different team. New players, you know so, we kinda remember the successes of last season, but we don't want to harp on it too much. We want to direct our season in a new direction, so to speak, and kind of create our own 2018 team," Sarah King, Baylor senior defender, said.
And with a mentality like that, the Bears have hit the ground running with two-a-days and meetings to get everyone on the same page before their first game next week.
"They all want to get after it. They're all determined. They're not distracted by an Elite 8 run last year of the 2017 team. They want to make their own mark, and I think that's going to be really, really important as we move through the season that they continue to say 'hey, we want to make our own mark,'" Paul Jobson, Baylor Soccer's head coach, said.
The bears kick off their season August 10th with a home exhibition against Sam Houston State.
Copyright 2018 KXXV. All rights reserved.
